“You’ve got organized hacks, and it's getting harder and harder to know what you're clicking on, if that's real or not.” Crypto is at a tipping point, and while demand is growing, fraud is up 48%, regulations are tightening, and user expectations are shifting. In the past year alone, over $2.2 billion has been lost due to hacks of crypto exchanges. And crypto crime isn’t just happening online—earlier this year, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, was kidnapped in Paris with a ransom demand. In ...
Mar 26, 2025•41 min•Season 3Ep. 1
“Your intuition is designed to make you comfortable, not necessarily correct.” In this season finale of What The Fraud?, we’re looking ahead to the year that could define the future of fraud prevention. Sharing his predictions with Thomas is Paul Maskall, Behavioural Lead for UK Finance and the City of London Police, and a key strategist at the Economic and Cyber Police Headquarters. With a background in psychology, Paul reveals how our relationship with technology is creating new vulnerabilitie...
Jan 08, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 8
"Why are we trying to change the 3% of people who stammer in the UK? Why aren’t we educating the 97% of people who don’t?” Fraud isn’t victimless — it’s a powerful engine for bias, hitting marginalised communities hardest and driving inequality. In this episode, Claire Maillet joins Thomas to uncover how fraud fuels digital-age discrimination and what stakeholders can do to fight back. Claire is an award-winning fraud expert, PhD researcher, and advocate for disability and mental health awarenes...
Dec 18, 2024•36 min•Season 2Ep. 7
"We don’t treat fraud as importantly as money laundering.” Who should be responsible for preventing and addressing fraud in the digital age? This is what Thomas is exploring today with Jessica Cath, Financial Crime Partner at Thistle Initiatives, a compliance consultancy firm supporting regulated businesses. As fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, its impact extends far beyond individual victims, posing challenges for businesses, governments, and society. Jessica’s sharp insights into what ...
Dec 04, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 6
“For an expense of about $1,000 per month, the damage that a fraudster can cause to businesses is upwards of $2.5 million.” In this special episode of What The Fraud?, Thomas is joined by Ilya Brovin, a growth strategist from Sumsub, to explore the latest insights from their annual Identity Fraud Report and reveals the most significant changes in fraud trends over the past year. The report provides an in-depth analysis of global identity fraud, based on millions of verification checks and more t...
Nov 20, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 5
“The AI model thinks that the user is going to commit fraud at one point. So, it’s mitigating fraud before it even happens, which sounds quite crazy to me.” In this episode of What The Fraud? Thomas is joined by Kris Galloway, Head of iGaming Product at Sumsub. With an impressive 12 years of experience in the iGaming industry, starting out as a poker player, Kris is the perfect guest for insights into this topic. Together, Thomas and Kris delve into market growth, tightening regulations, and new...
Nov 06, 2024•36 min•Season 2Ep. 4
"You ultimately become a victim of your own success because you’re doing really well as a business but scrambling around trying to make sure your compliance can keep up.” In this fact-filled episode covering APP fraud, Thomas sits down with James Nurse, Managing Director at FINTRAIL, a leading global financial crime consultancy. Thomas and James unpack recent cases involving Revolut and Coinbase, drawing comparisons between the two. They look at the staggering £459.7 million stolen by criminals ...
Oct 23, 2024•31 min•Season 2Ep. 3
“For those genuine bodies that are out there—work with us and try to get rid of your fear because we’ve got the same fears and we’re trying to stop them.” In this episode of What The Fraud? we dive into the evolving landscape of crypto fraud in 2024 and beyond with Mark Taylor, Global Head of Financial Crime/ MLRO at CEX.IO. Thomas and Mark explore the rise of cryptocurrency in 2024, where fraudsters have become more sophisticated, even infiltrating the U.S. election system. They also discuss th...
Oct 09, 2024•38 min•Season 2Ep. 2
“I let them know... You messed with the wrong parent.” Welcome back to What The Fraud? In the first episode of series two, Thomas Taraniuk is joined by world-leading cyber threat intelligence analyst, Charity Wright. Charity works as the ‘Principal Threat Intelligence Consultant’ at cyber security company, Recorded Future, in the United States. Thomas and Charity take a look at how a leading financial service provider is enhancing its efforts in combating payment fraud. They delve into strategie...
Sep 25, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 1
“Many people barter their souls for the allure of booze, babes, and bucks!” In this final episode of What The Fraud? Tom and fraud expert Sophia Carlton get right to the root of the problem – what drives a person, or a group of people, to commit fraud? Is it just the payout? Or are there other things at stake? Tom discusses with Accenture Fraud Transformation Executive Sophia those ‘Three Bs’, the crucial differences between the individual and the syndicate, and whether it’s possible sympathise ...
Jun 05, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 8
“The fact that we have seen organized crime move much more into this space... It's not just your individual doing something bad. This is big business.” In this season’s penultimate episode of What The Fraud?, host Thomas Taraniuk is joined by Vice President of Global Public Policy at Chainalysis, Caroline Malcolm. Tom and Caroline discuss how fraud has developed in the world of crypto and what the major exchanges are doing to try and stop it – plus, what recent legal changes have the UK made to ...
May 22, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 7
“99% of your customers are legitimate… don't put too much friction in place for them just because you're trying to stop that 1%.” In episode 6 of What The Fraud?, host Thomas Taraniuk is joined by Fraud and Payments Manager at international footwear brand FitFlop, Adam Sherlock. Tom and Adam discuss the different ways that fraud is perpetrated in the eCommerce industry, how synthetic learning technology can be used to help fight against fraud, and Adam also provides his top three tips to help co...
May 08, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 6
“In person, we have our ideas of who we can trust… online, anyone can be anyone!” In this episode of What The Fraud?, host Thomas Taraniuk is joined by Associate Professor of Criminology at Kingston University and forensic linguist, Dr Elisabeth Carter. Tom and Elisabeth discussed the variety of ways that fraudsters can take advantage of vulnerable individuals via social media and dating apps, how AI is making the world of online dating a minefield, and what exactly is an "online guardian"? What...
Apr 24, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 5
“So I think that's why you, as an organization, should also be regularly testing your controls... pretend to be a fraudster and see what your vulnerabilities are!” Thomas Taraniuk was joined by Seun Oshinsui, Head of Financial Crime Operations at Mettle, for Episode 4 of What The Fraud? Tom and Seun discussed the different ways that fraudsters operated in the financial crime sector, and how companies could test their own defences to make sure they were fully protected from criminal operators. Wh...
Apr 10, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 4
“They will do whatever suits them to get from A to B, and they don’t care who it hurts.” In Episode 3 of What The Fraud?, host Thomas Taraniuk is joined by lecturer and CEO of We Fight Fraud Dr Nicola Harding. Thomas and Dr Harding take a look at the threats that the gambling sector currently faces from cybercriminals, and discuss the ways that these gaming corporations can protect themselves and their customers from fraudulent activity. What the Fraud? is a Listen Production for Sumsub. For Lis...
Mar 27, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 3
“It’s not a coincidence, that the World Economic Forum described AI-generated disinformation as THE biggest threat for the global economy.” In Episode 2 of What The Fraud?, host Thomas Taraniuk is joined by internationally renowned speaker and all-round expert on AI, Walter Pasquarelli Thomas and Walter make sense of current legislative action against synthetic technologies, where and how fraudulent AI activities can impact a company, and what you can do that protect your company from falling fo...
Mar 13, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 2
“Which little piggy are you? The piggy that lives in the straw house, in the wooden house, or are you going to build your organisation up so it’s as strong as a brick house?" In the first episode of this brand-new podcast series by Sumsub host Thomas Taraniuk is joined by international fraud expert Peter Taylor AKA ‘The Fraud Guy’, a former police detective-turned fraud-buster for major companies. Thomas and Peter dig into the biggest must-know fraud trends for 2024 revealing some surprising rea...
Feb 28, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Join Thomas Taraniuk in hosting leading minds from the world of AI, fintech, crypto, iGaming, and more. This podcast dives deep into the most pressing issues surrounding digital fraud in business. Each episode dissects key fraud-related issues that companies—both big and small—face today. From deepfakes and identity theft to money mules and forced verification, What The Fraud? is where digital fraudsters meet their match. This is THE podcast for comprehensive, actionable, and up-to-date informat...
Feb 13, 2024•1 min
